Ralph Emerson once said that the purpose of life is not to be happy, but to be useful, to be loving, to make some difference in he world. While we appreciate such words of wisdom, we rarely try to follow them in our lives.
Most people prefer to live a good life themselves, ignoring their responsibilities for the world. This narrow perception of a good life may provide short-term benefits, but is sure to lead to long-term harm and suffering. A good life based on comfort and luxury may eventually lead to more pain be-cause we spoil our health and even our character, principles, ideals, and relationships.
What then, is the secret of a good life? A good life is a process, not a state of being : a direction, not a destination. We have to earn a good life by first serving others without any expectation in return because their happiness is the very source of our own happiness. More importantly, we must know ourselves inside out. Only when we examine ourselves deeply can we discover our abilities and recognize our limitations, and then work accordingly to create a better world.
The first requirement for a good life is having a loving heart. When we do certain right things merely as a duty, we find our job so tiresome that we’ll soon burn out. However, when we do that same job out of love, we not only enjoy what we do, but also do it with an effortless feeling.
However, love alone is insufficient to lead a good life. Love sometimes blinds us to the reality. Consequently, our good intentions may not lead to good results. To achieve desired outcome, those who want to do good to others also need to equip themselves with accurate world knowledge. False knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance. If love is the engine of a car knowledge is the steering wheel(方向盤). If the engine lacks power, th car can’t move; if the driver loses control of the steering, a road accident probably occurs. Only with love in heart and the right knowledge in mind can we lead a good life.
With love and knowledge, we go all out to create a better world by doing good to others. When we see the impact of our good work on the world we give meaning to our life and earn lasting joy and happiness.
51. What effect does the narrow perception of a good life have on us?
A. Making us simple-minded B. Making us short-signted.
C. Leading us onto a busy road. D. Keeping us from comfort and luxury.
52. According to the author, how can one gain true happiness?
A. Through maintaining good health.
B. By going through pain and suffering.
C. By recognizing one’s abilities and limitations.
D. Through offering help much needed by others.
53. According to Paragraph 4, doing certain right things with a loving heart makes one________.
A. less selfish B. less annoying
C. more motivated D. more responsible
54. In what case may good intentions fail to lead to desired results?
A. When we have wrong knowledge of the world.
B. When our love for the world is insufficient.
C. When we are insensitive to dangers in life.
D. When we stay blind to the reality.
55. According to Paragraph 5, life can be made truly good when ________.
A. inspired by love and guided by knowledge
B. directed by love and pushed by knowledge
C. purified by love and enriched by knowledge
D. promoted by love and defined by knowledge
原文轉譯
拉夫·愛默生曾經說過，生活的目的不是快樂，而是做個有用的人，做個有愛心的人，為世界帶來改變。當我們欣賞這些智慧的話語時，我們很少在生活中遵循它們。
大多數人寧願自己過好生活，而忽略了他們對世界的責任。這種對美好生活的狹隘看法可能會帶來短期的好處，但肯定會導致長期的傷害和痛苦。建立在舒適和奢侈基礎上的美好生活最終可能會帶來更多的痛苦，因為我們破壞了自己的健康，甚至破壞了自己的性格、原則、理想和人際關系。
那麽，美好生活的秘訣是什麽呢?美好的生活是一個過程，而不是一種狀態;是一個方向，而不是一個目的地。我們要獲得美好的生活，首先要不求回報地服務他人，因為他們的幸福就是我們自己幸福的源泉。更重要的是，我們必須徹底了解自己。只有當我們深入審視自己時，我們才能發現自己的能力，認識到自己的局限性，然後相應地努力創造一個更美好的世界。
美好生活的首要條件是擁有一顆愛心。當我們僅僅把做正確的事情當作一種責任時，我們會覺得工作太無聊，很快就會精疲力竭。然而，當我們出於愛而做同樣的工作時，我們不僅喜歡我們所做的，而且做起來毫不費力。
然而，只有愛是不足以過好生活的。愛情有時會讓我們看不見現實。因此，我們的善意可能不會帶來好的結果。為了達到預期的結果，那些想要為他人做好事的人也需要用準確的世界知識來裝備自己。虛假的知識比無知更危險。如果愛情是汽車的發動機，知識就是方向盤(方向盤)。如果發動機缺乏動力，汽車就不能行駛;如果司機失去對方向盤的控制，就有可能發生交通事故。只有心中有愛，心中有正確的知識，我們才能過上美好的生活。
帶著愛和知識，我們透過對他人做好事來創造一個更美好的世界。當我們看到我們的工作對世界的影響時，我們賦予我們的生活意義，並獲得持久的快樂和幸福。
51. 對美好生活的狹隘看法對我們有什麽影響?
A.使我們頭腦簡單
B.使我們目光短淺
C.把我們引到一條繁忙的路上。D.讓我們遠離舒適和奢侈。
52. 作者認為，一個人怎樣才能獲得真正的幸福?
A.透過保持身體健康。
B.透過經歷痛苦和磨難。
C.認識到自己的能力和局限性。
D.透過提供別人急需的幫助。
53. 根據第四段，帶著一顆愛心做正確的事情會使人________。
A.不那麽自私;
B.不那麽煩人
C.更有動力
D.更有責任54. 在什麽情況下，良好的意圖可能無法導致預期的結果?
A.當我們對世界有錯誤的認識時。
B.當我們對世界的愛不夠時。
C.當我們對生活中的危險不敏感時。
D.當我們對現實視而不見時。
55. 根據第5段，當________生活可以變得真正美好。
A.為愛所激勵，為知識所指導
B.由愛引導，由知識推動
C.因愛而凈化，因知識而充實
D.由愛推動，由知識界定
【答案】 51 B 52. D 53. C 54. A 55. A
【解析】
【導語】本文是一篇議論文。文章主要論述了美好生活的秘訣是什麽。人生的目的不是生而快樂，而是生而有益。
【 51題詳解】
細節理解題。根據文章第二段 「This narrow perception of a good life may provide short-term benefits, but is sure to lead to long-term harm and suffering.(這種對美好生活的狹隘看法可能會帶來短期的好處，但肯定會導致長期的傷害和痛苦。)」可知，對美好生活的狹隘看法只能給我們帶來短期的好處，所以時間長了會讓我們目光短淺、短視。故選B項。
【 52題詳解】
細節理解題。根據文章第三段 「We have to earn a good life by first serving others without any expectation in return because their happiness is the very source of our own happiness.(我們必須先為他人服務而不求回報，因為他人的幸福是我們自己幸福的源泉。)」可知，我們能夠從幫助他人獲得真正的幸福。故選D項。
【 53題詳解】
推理判斷題。根據文章第四段 「However, when we do that same job out of love, we not only enjoy what we do, but also do it with an effortless feeling.(然而，當我們出於熱愛做同樣的工作時，我們不僅享受我們做的事情，而且也享受那種毫不費力的感覺。)」可知，帶著熱愛去做事會讓人更加享受做這件事情；越享受做某件事，做事越有動力。故選C項。
【 54題詳解】
推理判斷題。根據文章第五段 「False knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance.(虛假的知識比無知更危險。)」可以推測出，當我們對世界有錯誤的認識的時候，就算意圖良好，也可能導致不好的、違背預期的結局。故選A項。
【 55題詳解】
細節理解題。根據文章最後一段 「With love and knowledge, we go all out to create a better world by doing good to others.(帶著愛和知識，我們全力以赴，透過對他人做好事來創造一個更美好的世界。)」可知，有愛和知識，生活就會變得更美好。故選A項。
